Head of Florida DEP resigns

JACKIE HALLIFAXAssociated Press Writer

Published Thursday, January 29, 2004

TALLAHASSEE -- The head of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, who oversaw the state's efforts to restore the Everglades, said Wednesday he was resigning to work for International Paper Co.

The news of DEP Secretary David Struhs' departure elicited a range of reactions from environmentalists.

"I'm distressed that he's leaving," said Vicki Tschinkel, Florida state director of the Nature Conservancy.

"We are happy that he is moving on to more appropriate work," Frank Jackalone, Florida staff director of the Sierra Club, said from his St. Petersburg office.

In his letter to Gov. Jeb Bush, Struhs, 43, said he would leave in a month's time. Struhs, who made $122,017 as DEP secretary, will become vice president of environmental affairs for International Paper, working out of the company's operational headquarters in Memphis, Tenn.

International Paper is one of the largest private owners of forests in the world and is the largest paper and forest products company.

Bush appointed Struhs in early 1999, making him one of the governor's longest-serving aides. Struhs was serving as Massachusetts' top environmental regulator at the time.

The governor later told reporters Struhs had been an "extraordinary secretary" and praised his "passion for restoration of the Everglades."

There was some speculation last summer that Struhs might be named to run the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but a number of Florida groups reacted with criticism.

The Florida League of Conservation Voters and the Florida Clean Water Network joined the Sierra Club in calling for Struhs' removal from DEP.

Jackalone said his organization wanted to see Struhs leave after state lawmakers approved changes to the Everglades restoration plan last spring.